Thursday, August 19, 2010

SUMMER SUCKS & ANUDDER CALAVARAS CENTURY (2010)

Besides injury and family death, the summer had been real cold. Baseball season has been interesting.

Orioles wear their Pumpkincycle throwback uniforms (AP)SUMMERTIME driving from East to Central County for a Diablo cyclist ride. Fog hanging over the usually sunny Central County whereas it looks like the San Francisco sunset district in the morning.

Fog will usually clear by afternoon, but while it gets warm it is rarely hot. Here the Orioles team train comes in to Sunol. (wardophoto)

Usually have a casual ride up Mt. Diablo on Tuesday with Ward, and the Diablo Cyclist balls out ride on Wednesday--now frequented by too many young racers who are too fast (but great training trying to keep up to the Junction.) Unless in training I try NEVER to go to the top unless it is 83 degrees at the bottom (as to will be -20 less, and with wind chill it will almost feel -30.) In past years, in the Summer it was almost always 83 degrees, with half the time 90+. This year....well, last week it was 77 on Tuesday and 70! on Wednesday, this week was 82 both days. Dr. Dave, Ward and I had a nice ride going to the junction until Ward subliminally instructed me to chase someone who had passed us--Big Jim, who likes this lousy weather, waiting for us at the Junction after he came up the other side.

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CALAVERAS CENTURY

Donna getting back on the bike, she meets up with Tea Party Mary and other friends to start the ride where the Diablo Cyclist ride would start.

We had a fast ride to Pleasanton with little climbing--Dr. Dave kept getting the bent off the front and some of the motivated riders would dig in and try to stay with him. It was cloudy, with a cold cross wind, and I was definitely unmotivated.

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Loads of cyclists out--we passed a huge group of the House of Pain ride as they waited to regroup at a turnaround and on Calavares we passed a big group of Oakland Yellowjackets. Cisco Dave got excited when he saw some riders wearing a Cisco kit.

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Ward would make all the flat breaks with Dr. Dave, and Christine and Cisco Dave hammered Calaveras both ways--with Christine almost penalized 15 yards for excessive celebrating after she Thor'd (celebrate after being only person to sprint) the County Line sign. ******Meanwhile the we'd have a tailwind for 500 feet, a sudden cross wind for 1000 feet, and then a block headwind (repeat, repeat, repeat)Jack gets a flat on rustic Highland-Collier Canyon run in--Ward and Steve offer technical assistance. Luckily one spot it was sunny and sheltered from the wind. A windswept, flat ride to Sunol, the bonus mile group continued onto Calaveras.Last week Christine got a flat on an aero rim, and only had a tube with a short stem that couldn't be pumped up. She proclaimed that "she likes guys with long stems." Christine didn't take a position on "guys cycling with bluetooths." Ward liked this so much he grabbed the camera and took a series of em'. (Ward-o-photo)

At the end of Calaveras we went down "The Wall" to do the short but very steep reclimb. Christina coming up "The Wall."

Ward doing the bonus "Wall" climb. I wound up doing the Wall twice.

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Tomorrow is The Tour of Napa Valley, thequintessential crowded clustefuck ride that eventually brings all routes together on a narrow shoulder passed by cars darting from winery to winery; while slower riders ride 3 across and block the road shoulder. After what happened in Santa Rosa I had no interest in this--hopefully Stephen will run one of his great Napa rides for the club soon, I already have on the books our self supported ORIGINAL Sierra Century.